The U.S. Army fights drones mid-air using Microwave Cannons

CIO Bulletin

August 08, 2018

The U.S. Army plans to buy Microwave Cannons to wipe clean drones out of the sky. Last Friday, the U.S. Army publicly announced its intentions to purchase the air-borne high-powered microwave system from Lockheed Martin, an American aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technologies company.

This countermeasure could be in response to the recent assassination attempt made against the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro using a pair of drones packed with remote-triggered explosives. The drones, however, was shot and deactivated. The widespread availability of these commercial drones is making it a new threat, especially to the U.S. Army.

The new build is inspired by a similar microwave system that was developed by Lockheed Martin for the Air Force, called the Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator (SHiELD). It was intended to be used against the attacking missiles.

The new and simple system which can be mounted to an airplane broadcasts a microwave beam that is capable of disabling the attacker drone’s primitive control systems causing it to crash. Laser and high-powered microwaves can someday even detonate the artillery rounds, motor rounds, or shoot down the rocket.

Nonetheless, a number of more safer and sophisticated countermeasures are available today, which could bring down the harmful drones. A recent study of drones at the Bard’s Center revealed that there are about 235 anti-drone systems and techniques either in use or in active development. And this could include tactics ranging from the most-effective target radio jamming to trained hawks plucking drones out of the sky.